New Orchid Species found in Wayanad

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A new orchid variety has been discovered in Wayanad. Named as Liparis sanamalabarica, this has been collected from Kattimattom hill areas under the Meppadi forest range of the southern Western Ghats in Wayanad district of Kerala.

This small herbaceous orchid has been discovered by M. Salim, senior technical assistant, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) under the supervision of V. Balakrishnan, Head, Community Agrobiodiversity Centre (CABC) of MSSRF.

The name ‘sanamalabarica’ refers to the Malabar region where it has been found and the word ‘sana’ means beautiful in the Arab language. This discovery is published in the new edition of Taiwania International Journal of Life Science.